New Year, New Lover
by Mrs Carmichael
Summary: He promised her he'd be there to kiss her at midnight, when her partner doesn't show, will she turn to someone else? SSP Love Triangle. Full summary inside. Plz R&R, luv ya all Gemz xxx
1. Flirting Between Friends

**Hey guys! Another new fic from me! I know I've got so many other unfinished on here but i love this idea so much, I just couldn't resist the temptation of puuting it on here!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in here, they belong to The Bill. Any unrecognisable names however, I do own.**

**Yes, it's another SSP fic. I love that pairing and to be honest, Stuart-bashing is one of my hobbies! I don't think I could do what I'm planning to do with this fic to any other male in CID. Believe me, I did think of it.**

**Neway, that's enough from me, plz R&R, luv ya all Gemz xx

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New Year, New Lover

**Summary: He promised her he'd be there to kiss her at midnight, when her partner doesn't show, will she turn to someone else? SSP Love Triangle. For the purposes of this fic, Sam and Stuart stayed together after the miscarriage, Romania hasn't happened and Phil hasn't left.**

**Chapter 1- Flirting Between Friends**

DI Samantha Nixon switched off the computer in her office at about 5:30 on New Years Eve. She sat back in her chair and looked out of the window, her boyfriend of a year and a half, Stuart Turner, was still sat at his desk, his head bent over his paperwork. Sam stood up and left the office, heading towards Stuart's desk. She softly kissed him on the back of the neck and then perched on the edge of his desk, 'you off now babe?' he asked.

Sam nodded, 'are you coming too?' she replied.

Stuart shook his head, 'I've got to get through all of this,' he said, gesturing towards the stack of paperwork next to him.

'But Stuart, we're supposed to be going to The Seven Bells with the rest of the relief, to see in the New Year,'

'I'll be there Sam, I promise. I'll be there to kiss you at midnight; I just wanna get through as much of this as I can,'

'Promise?'

'I promise,' Stuart said as he leant across and kissed Sam softly on the lips and rested his hand on her knee.

'What time will you be coming?' Sam asked when they pulled away.

'I'll call you when I leave here, OK,'

Sam nodded, 'I'll see you later then,' she said.

Stuart nodded as she got off his desk and went back into her office; she went back over to her desk and picked up her things. She left the office and stood at the main door to CID, Sam took one final glance at Stuart before opening the door and descending the staircase.

* * *

Sam pulled her car up in her and Stuart's driveway a little while later. She entered the house and locked the door after her. She put her bag down beside the telephone and headed upstairs to prepare for tonight. Sam entered the bathroom and began to run herself a bath, she reached into her bathroom cabinet and pulled out her favourite bottle of bubble bath, pouring it into the bath. Sam waited for a few minutes until it had bubbled up, she undressed and was about to get into the bath when she heard the telephone ring. 'Oh shit,' she muttered.

She pulled her silk dressing gown off the back of the door and put it on. Sam closed the bathroom door and left the bathroom to go down and answer the phone, 'hello,' Sam said when she answered,

'Hi Sam, it's Phil,' Phil replied.

'Oh hi Phil, what do you want? I was just about to get in the bath,'

Phil smirked to himself; there were all sorts of thoughts going through his head. 'Are you still there Phil?' Sam asked.

'Yeah, I am Sam. I was just thinking, about things,'

'What things?'

'Now wouldn't you like to know,' Phil said flirtatiously.

Sam smiled to herself, 'seriously Phil what did you want?'

'I just wanted to see if you are still coming tonight,'

'Why do you think I'm just about to get in the bath? Of course I'm still coming; it's New Year's Eve after all,'

'Is Stuart coming too?' Phil asked

'Yeah, he is,' Sam replied.

'Oh,' Phil said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

'He's still at work doing paperwork, he said he'd come when he's got it done,' Sam replied, trying to make Phil feel better.

'And you believe him?'

'Of course I do! What sort of girlfriend would I be if I didn't trust my boyfriend? I trust him and I know that he'll turn up,'

'And what if he doesn't?'

'I'll cross that bridge if or when I come to it,'

'I hope you know what you're doing Sam, you're my best friend and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt,'

'I know Phil and I really appreciate it, I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself, listen I'd better go Phil, my bathwater will be getting cold,'

'OK then Sam, I'll see you down the pub,'

'I'll see you then Phil, bye,' she said as she put down the phone.

Sam walked through to her kitchen and opened the fridge, looking for the bottle of red wine that she and Stuart had shared on Christmas Day. She took the bottle out of the fridge, picked up a glass that was standing on the sideboard and left the kitchen.

Sam raced back upstairs and into her bathroom, she cautiously dipped her toe into the bathwater but quickly withdrew it, 'damn Phil Hunter,' she muttered as she pulled the plug out.

Sam let some of the water out before replacing the plug and running the hot tap. She poured herself a glass of wine out before getting into the bath a few minutes. Sam immersed herself in the bubbles as she began to drink from her glass, her thoughts occasionally wandering back to what Phil had said, would Stuart turn up at the pub or would he just let her down?

* * *

Sam got out of the bath about half an hour later. She wrapped herself in a white fluffy towel and re-entered her bedroom. Sam looked towards her bedside table and at the clock; it read 7:00pm. She smiled to herself; she was due to be meeting the relief at the Seven Bells at eight that evening. She dried herself with the towel and went back into the bathroom to put her towel on the radiator, she put her dressing gown on before she went back through to her bedroom. Sam walked over to her wardrobe and opened the doors, trying to find something to wear for tonight. She raked through all her clothes and eventually picked out two outfits; a pair of denim jeans and black and silver halter-necked top and a black knee-length skirt with a red silk top. Sam needed someone else's opinion and she knew exactly who to call.

She pulled her dressing gown tightly around herself as she retrieved her mobile from her bag. Sam scrolled through her phonebook and found the number she was looking for; she pressed call and held her phone to her ear. The phone rang a couple times before he answered, 'hi Sam,' Phil answered.

'Hi Phil, are you at the pub yet?'

'No I'm just about to leave my house, why?'

'I was just wondering if you would mind making a little detour,'

'That depends where to,'

'I can't decide on an outfit for tonight,'

'I don't think you need my help for that Sam,'

'Oh, please Phil; I just want someone else's opinions,'

'Go on then,' Phil relented.

'Awww, thanks Phil, I'll see you in about 10minutes,'

'See you then Sam, bye,' Phil said as he hung up.

Sam smiled to herself as she put her phone back into her bag and went upstairs. She began to rummage through her underwear drawer and pulled out some sexy underwear, which she'd brought for special occasions. In Sam's book, New Year's Eve was always considered a special occasion. She re-entered her bathroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

5minutes later, Sam re-emerged from the bathroom as she heard a knock at the door. 'I'm coming!' she called as she raced down the stairs.

Sam opened the door and a soft smile lit up her face, 'hey Phil,' she said.

'Hey Sam,' he said as she stepped aside to let him in.

'Thanks for doing this Phil,' Sam said as she began to climb back up the stairs.

'It's no problem Sam,' Phil smiled at her as he followed. 'But as I said, I don't really think you need my help in choosing,'

'And as I said to you, I'd just appreciate your opinion,' Sam said. 'Wait out here,' she added as she and Phil stopped outside her bedroom door.

Phil nodded as Sam entered the bedroom and closed the door. He turned slightly and saw that Sam had left the door slightly ajar. He wanted to see what outfit she wanted his opinion on so he peeked through the small gap in the door. Phil got more than he bargained for as Sam discarded her dressing gown, revealing the sexy underwear she'd put on just before Phil arrived. He gulped; it was all he could do to stop himself from wolf-whistling at her. He leant against the wall beside her bedroom door, trying to keep his breathing level.

'What do you think?' Sam asked as she emerged a few minutes later, she was wearing the black knee-length skirt and red silk top.

Phil looked at her and smirked, 'what's wrong?' she asked.

Phil shook his head, 'no nothing Sam, I really like it. I think you should wear that because your legs are far too gorgeous to be hidden away like someone's hidden treasure,'

'You shouldn't be saying that Phil,' Sam whispered.

'What Stuart doesn't know won't hurt him Sam,'

Sam smiled at him, 'so you think I should wear this then?' she asked, looking for confirmation.

Phil nodded, Sam smiled at him as she went back into her bedroom and he followed her inside. She knelt down and moved all the clothes out of the way so she could get to the shoes at the bottom. She picked out a pair of heels and sat down on her bed to put them on. She put them on and straightened up her skirt. 'You didn't have to wait for me Phil,' she said as she left the bedroom with him in tow.

'I wanted to Sam,' Phil replied as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

'Thanks Phil,' Sam said as she leant upwards and lightly pressed a kiss against his cheek.

Sam picked her bag up from the sideboard and turned to face Phil, 'do I look OK?' she asked.

'You look gorgeous Sam and if Stuart turns up and doesn't realise that, he's a bigger fool than I already think he is,'

'Phil, can you please try and get on with Stuart, for my sake if not for anyone else,'

Phil looked at her, 'OK then, I'll try,' he relented.

'Thank you,' Sam said as she opened the door to the house.

Phil stepped outside and Sam locked the door after her. 'You ready?' he asked, holding his arm out to Sam.

Sam smiled at him as she took his arm and walked down the garden path. They both turned the corner and headed off in the direction of The Seven Bells.

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**I've got written plans for the next 4 chapters and a rough plan for Chapter 5 in my head so please review xxxx**


	2. Broken Promises

**Hey guys next chapter for you. Thanks to Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), ****KattyKit2003, Jodie, Ellyce, Amy, Robyn, Barb and Leanne for reviewing the previous chapter. **

**This is for all of you who reviewed but especially for my Huxon twin, she knows who she is and I know how much she's been looking forward to this chapter.**

**Luv ya all Gemz xx**

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Chapter 2- Broken Promises**

Sam and Phil arrived at The Seven Bells just after 8. They opened the door and Gina turned around, 'ahhh Sam, Phil,' she said. 'You're just in time; I'm just about to buy the first round.'

'I'll give you a hand Gina,' Sam replied as she began to walk towards the bar.

'No it's fine Sam, Smithy's helping me bring the drinks,' Gina said. 'You go and sit down. What are you drinking?'

'White wine,' Sam replied.

'And a beer for me please,' Phil added.

Gina nodded as Sam and Phil made their way over to where the rest of the team were sitting. They took the two remaining seats next to each other and sat down. Gina and Smithy brought the drinks over a few minutes later. Sam and Phil took their drinks and turned to face each other, keeping eye contact with each other as they took sips from their glasses. 'Phil,' Sam said when she'd finished her sip. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Anything,' Phil replied as he put his glass of beer on the table.

'What exactly were you thinking about when we were on the phone earlier?'

Phil looked around cautiously, 'come over to the bar with me and I'll tell you,' he smirked as he picked his glass up and walked over to the other side of the bar.

Sam smiled and followed him to the other side of the bar, 'so come on then,' she pressed him once they were on their own. 'What is it you were thinking about?'

Phil smiled at her, 'I was mentally undressing you,' he smirked.

'Yeah, and throwing the clothes back on when you see what's on offer,' Sam replied.

Phil smiled at her; she smiled back and their continued to drink their drinks. 'It sounds to me like you've never been properly appreciated,' Phil said once he'd finished his drink. 'Take Stuart for example-'

'Phil,' Sam cut over him. 'I thought you were gonna try and be nice about him and for your information, Stuart does appreciate me, he just shows it in different ways.'

'What ways would they be then?'

'Wouldn't you like to you,' Sam smirked at him as she took a sip.

* * *

'Here Jo,' DC Mickey Webb said to Jo. 'Look at them.'

'Look at who?' Jo asked as she turned to face Mickey.

Mickey pulled Jo closer to him so that her head was against his shoulder. 'Yeah, it's Sam and Phil, so what?' Jo said.

'Well look at them, I don't reckon Stuart would be too pleased if he knew what was going on here,' Mickey replied.

'Well, he's not here is he? I doubt either of them are gonna say anything to him, where is Stuart anyway?'

'I think he's probably still at the nick, he said he had some paperwork that he wanted to finish,'

'I see,' Jo said as she looked back up towards Sam and Phil, they'd just turned round and were heading back towards them. 'You've got a dirty mind Phil,' Sam was saying.

'I've never heard you complain,' Phil smirked back at her.

Sam giggled as she and Phil sat back down in their seats. She looked over at Jo and Mickey, 'well, that looks cosy,' she remarked.

Mickey looked towards Sam and Jo quickly removed her head from his shoulder, 'what's going on?' Sam smirked at the pair of them.

'Jo's drunk,' Mickey lied.

'Already?' Sam looked at her watch. 'It's only 8:30.'

'Yeah, she got here ages before the rest of us,'

'Oh shut up Mickey,' Jo said prodding him in the arm, 'I'm not drunk, I've only had one,'

'Yeah, right, the number of times I've heard that,' Phil chipped in.

He looked towards Sam and smiled at her, she started giggling again and rested her head against Phil's shoulder, 'are you sure it's not her who's drunk,' Jo remarked, gesturing towards Sam.

'I'm not drunk,' Sam replied as soon as she'd stopped giggling long enough to speak, 'like you Jo, I've only had one.'

'Well, I think we'd better fix that then, I'll get you another,' Phil said as he stood up and began to walk towards the bar.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Stuart hadn't showed up and Sam was beginning to wonder where he was. 'I won't be a minute,' she said to Phil as she stood up and began to head for the door.

'Where are you going?' he called after her.

'I'm going to see if I can get hold of Stuart,' Sam called back as she opened the door and left.

Phil watched as the door closed behind her, he sighed to himself. He had promised Sam that he was going to try and be nice about Stuart but that was easier said than done. Phil had disliked Stuart from the off, he had the one thing that Phil wanted and that had somehow driven all thoughts of a friendship with Stuart to the back of his mind. Phil laughed to himself, the idea that he could be friends with Stuart was ridiculous, they were in competition for the affections of Samantha Nixon, how could they possibly be friends?

Phil couldn't help wondering where Stuart was too, wondering whether he was going to do as Phil thought he would and let Sam down. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Phil hoped that he wouldn't turn up because if he didn't, he could continue flirting with Sam, Phil was definitely enjoying that. On the other hand, he knew that Sam would be upset if he didn't turn up, it would mean that Stuart had broken his promise to Sam and he knew how she'd react to that; they were best friends, best friends who told each other everything. Well, almost everything; Phil hadn't said anything to Sam about he felt about her, partly because he didn't know how she'd react and partly because there was a part of him that believed that there was still going to be a chance for them and he didn't want to blow it.

Sam was stood against the wall of the Seven Bells. She pulled her coat tightly around her as she began to shiver. What on earth had possessed her to go out in late-December wearing a skirt? 'Damn Phil Hunter,' she muttered for the second time that evening.

It was him who'd persuaded her to wear the skirt, she had asked for his opinion and he'd given it to her. Phil had been paying her an awful lot of attention that night, maybe that was because he knew that he would get away with it, flirting with her. If she was honest with herself, she was enjoying having Phil's attention; Stuart wasn't here to give her that attention and even when Phil flirted with her in Stuart's company, she enjoyed it; having two men fighting it out for her affections made her feel good about herself. To Sam, it was harmless flirting, what she was doing with Phil. It was New Year's Eve and she wanted to enjoy herself.

Sam pulled her mobile out of her bag and scrolled through her phonebook to find Stuart's mobile number. She pressed call and waited for him to answer, about 5seconds later, the standard message floated through saying _'This mobile has been switched off…'_

Sam didn't bother listening to the rest of it; she ended the call and put her phone back into her bag, sighing to herself as she did so. He had done exactly what he had promised her he wouldn't do; he had let her down, broken his promise to her.

Sam walked back towards the door and opened it as she went back inside.

Phil looked towards the door and saw Sam re-enter. Instinctively, he knew what had just happened outside; the look on Sam's face said it all. 'What's wrong Sam?' he asked as she came back over towards him.

Sam sat down beside Phil and made eye contact with him, 'I can't get hold of Stuart, he's switched his phone off, I don't think he's coming,' she said.

'He might be on his way Sam you don't know,' Phil said, trying to comfort, even though deep down, he was pleased that he hadn't shown up.

'Then why has he switched his phone off? I don't think he had any intention of coming here tonight, he just said he would to get me off his back,'

'Hey come here,' Phil whispered as he wrapped his arms around Sam.

Sam rested her head against Phil's shoulder, breathing in his scent. He pulled away and gazed into her eyes. 'I'm gonna get you another drink Sam,' he said. 'I think you need it.'

Phil got up and went towards the bar to order him and Sam another drink each. A few minutes later he came back carrying Sam's white wine and his beer in his hands. He put the white wine down in front of Sam, 'thanks Phil,' she whispered as she took a sip from it.

'No worries Sam and besides, who needs Stuart when you've got me?' Phil replied.

Sam smiled at him, wondering if, perhaps, he did have a point there. 'What is it with me eh?' she asked a few minutes later. 'Why do I always pick blokes who end up letting me down?'

'It's not your fault Sam, its Stuart fault,' Phil said as Sam raised his eyebrows at him, looking like she was about to say something. 'I know what you're gonna say Sam but surely you can't expect me to be nice to him after what he's done to you tonight.'

'Maybe there's some sort of explanation,'

'It's not your fault that you end up with blokes that let you down, I'd never let you down Sam, you know that don't you?'

Sam smiled at him, 'of course I do Phil, you're one of the only decent blokes I've ever met, you're one in a million,' she said as she leant across and brushed her lips against his cheek and hugged him.

Phil wrapped his arms around Sam once more, hugging her close to him. She was his best friend and he hated seeing her like this.

Sam felt Phil's arms wrap around her for the second time that night, she sighed quietly to herself as she snuggled into Phil's chest, thinking about what Phil had said, they were best friends and she knew that he would never let her down in any way at all, unlike Stuart.

She started wondering why she and Phil had never ended up getting together. Phil had changed; he was no longer the ladies man and philanderer that she knew when she first arrived. He had changed and Sam knew that, was she ready to forget all his past demons and allow herself to love and be loved by Phil Hunter?

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Please review xx**


	3. Fireworks At Midnight

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Jodie, Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, Ellyce, Elz, Robyn, DetBarb, KittyKat2003, Lynsey and Leanne for reviewing the previous chaper. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xx**

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Chapter 3- Fireworks at Midnight**

At about 11:55 that evening, Sam decided that she'd had enough. She stood up and began to gather her things, 'where are you going?' Phil asked as he finished his beer.

'I'm going home,' Sam replied as she began to make her way towards the door.

Phil too stood up and followed her out of the Seven Bells. 'Why are you going now Sam? It's only 5minutes till midnight,' he said once he and Sam were outside the pub.

'What's the point in staying any longer, I can't kiss Stuart as the New Year comes in so what's the point in it?'

_Who'd want to kiss him_, Phil thought. 'I'm here for you Sam, you know that,' he finally said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Sam smiled at him as she put her hand on top of his, 'thanks Phil,' she replied.

'What are friends for eh?' Phil said as he smiled back at her.

Soon afterwards, they heard the countdown begin inside the pub.

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!

Sam and Phil heard clapping and cheering inside the pub, celebrating the start of a New Year. Phil looked towards Sam and smiled at her, 'Happy New Year Sam,' he said.

'Happy New Year Phil,' Sam replied, smiling back at him.

Their gazes locked for a few seconds longer, they leant closer together and soon enough, their faces were only centimetres apart, their lips inching closer and closer together until they met in a kiss. They pulled away and gazed back into each others eyes again, Phil cupped Sam's face in his hands as they leant closer together once more, their lips meeting again but this time, the kiss was more passionate than before. Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck as she allowed her tongue to enter his mouth and meets Phil's as his tongue enters her. Phil moved his hands down Sam's body and they came to rest on her waist as he slid he hands underneath her red silk top, taking pleasure in being able to feel Sam's soft skin under his hands as he wrapped his arms around her.

They pulled away and gazed into each others eyes once more, their breaths coming in small gasps, their hearts were racing but all the time, their gazes stayed locked. 'Let's go back inside,' Sam whispered, once she'd got her breath back.

Phil nodded as Sam opened the door to the pub and followed her back inside.

* * *

'Sam!' Jo called as she and Phil re-entered the pub. 'Where did you two sneak off to?'

'We didn't sneak off,' Sam replied. 'I just went to get some air.'

'Yeah right,' Jo muttered. 'Happy New Year.' she added.

'Happy New Year Jo,'

'I think you arrived back just in time, Neil's just about to buy a round,' Jo said.

Sam smiled as she and Phil went to sit back down. She turned to face Phil and they smiled at each other, wondering what was going to come of their kiss earlier. She didn't know how she felt about what had happened; maybe it was the alcohol, perhaps it had given her courage to go and kiss him as she had done. Or maybe there was another reason, nothing to do with the alcohol. Perhaps it was because she had realised that she did have genuine feelings for Phil, maybe there was a chance that if they entered a relationship together that it would work. Her thoughts soon went back to Stuart, wondering what he was doing now, wondering whether he was thinking of her.

Neil brought the drinks over a few minutes later, there was only him, Sam, Phil, Jo, Gina, Jack and Mickey left now, once everyone had got their drinks, Neil turned to all his remaining colleagues and spoke, 'well, let's propose a toast shall we?' he asked, when everyone him nodded, he continued. 'Happy New Year everyone,' he said as their glasses.

Murmurs of 'Happy New Year' rang around the group as they all begin to drink. Phil was still thinking about the kiss that he and Sam had shared earlier, it had been amazing. He had longed for, dreamt of that moment for ages and yet, the dream could never have lived up to the reality of it. He had finally kissed Samantha Nixon, and it wasn't just a small peck, it was a full-on snog. Phil wanted it to happen again, not just so he could experience that feeling all over again, but so he could feel Sam close to him once more, just as they had been. However, he didn't know what she was thinking, did she think it was a mistake or was there a part of her that wanted it to happen again too?

* * *

'I'm gonna head off,' Phil said about an hour or so later.

'Yeah, I think I'm gonna go too,' Sam replied.

'OK then, I'll see you,' Gina called after them.

Sam nodded as she and Phil made their way back towards the pub door and out into the cold January night.

'Do you fancy a takeaway?' Phil asked.

'Phil, its quarter past one in the morning, I hardly think there's gonna be any takeaway places still open at this time of night,' Sam replied.

'That's actually a good point, shall we go back to mine and I'll make something?'

Sam looked at him, 'yeah, why not Phil,' she said.

Phil smiled at her as they both began to walk off in the direction of Phil's house.

* * *

Phil opened the door to his house a little while later. 'So what do you want me to cook?' he asked.

'I don't know,' Sam replied. 'Surprise me.'

Phil smiled at her as he went through to the kitchen.

* * *

Half an hour later, Sam and Phil were eating the meal that he had cooked for them, 'I don't think I've ever known anyone to cook at nearly 2 in the morning,' Sam said.

'Well, it was necessary,' Phil protested. 'I was hungry and besides, you wanted me to cook.'

'OK point taken,'

Sam and Phil finished their meal a little while later and she helped Phil wash up. 'Listen, I'm gonna head off home,' Sam said soon after she'd finished the washing up.

'OK, I'll come with you,' Phil said as he stood up and followed her into the hall.

'I'm a big girl Phil and I think I'll be fine,'

'I just wanna make sure you get home safe, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you were attacked on the way home from here,'

'Oh go on then Phil,' Sam relented as she opened the front door.

* * *

A little while later, Sam and Phil stopped outside her and Stuart's house, she looked up at her house, her bedroom curtains were closed, meaning that Stuart was already in bed. Her heart sunk as she remembered what had happened earlier, it seemed that he had no intention of coming to the pub at all and he did just say he would go to get Sam off his back. 'Are you OK Sam?' Phil asked.

Sam turned to face him, 'yeah, I suppose, I'm just thinking,' she said. 'Listen about the kiss…'

'We'll talk about it another time, when you're sober,' Phil smirked.

'Oi!' Sam replied, poking him in the arm. 'I'm not drunk,' Phil raised his eyebrows at her, 'OK, I might be, just a little bit,' she admitted, holding her thumb and fourth finger apart slightly.

'Just keep telling yourself that Sam,' Phil said as he kissed her softly on the cheek.

'See you Phil,' Sam managed to whisper.

'See you Sam,' Phil said as she began to walk up the path.

Sam opened the door and turned to take one last look at Phil before closing the door quietly behind her.

Phil heard Sam lock the door and began to walk back to his house, safe in the knowledge that she was safe.

* * *

Sam put her handbag down on the sideboard and crept quietly into the living room. She looked towards the clock on the mantelpiece; it read 2:45 in the morning. She sighed to herself, wondering what she was going to say to Stuart when she woke up. Obviously, she wasn't going to say anything about the kiss that she had had with Phil. That wouldn't do much good. She wanted to know what Phil felt about what had happened, that would probably help her work out how she felt about him.

She took her shoes off and laid down on the sofa, she pulled the cushion across and put it under her head as she slowly went off to sleep. Her head filled with thoughts of Phil and the kiss that they'd shared, was it possible that this could develop into something more?

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**Please review xxx**


	4. A Shoulder To Cry On

**Heya guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Jodie, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Ellyce and Amy for reviewing.**

**This chapter is for all of you but especially for Jodie, as she pestered me to update this so here it is! Please R&R luv ya all Gemz xxx**

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**Chapter 4- A Shoulder To Cry On**

Stuart came downstairs at about 9 that morning, he had been awake for nearly half an hour and when he woke up and saw that Sam wasn't there, he began to wonder where she was. He was beginning to wonder whether he had made the right decision about not going to the New Year's Eve celebration yesterday evening. The previous evening, Stuart hadn't left the office until about 9:15 and after a hard day's work, he simply didn't feel like going. He knew that he was going to have to explain himself to Sam and he hoped that she would understand. After all, once upon a time, that would've been her left in the office.

Stuart entered the living room and looked towards the sofa where Sam was still asleep. He smiled to himself; she always was a peaceful sleeper. Stuart walked towards the sofa and sat down, leaning across to kiss Sam on the forehead. She began to stir, her eyes fluttered open and her gaze settled on Stuart. 'Morning,' he said.

'What time is it?' Sam asked as she attempted to stifle a yawn.

'Just gone 9,'

Sam got up and went through to the kitchen, flicking the kettle on as she walked past. She reached into the cupboard to pull out a mug and put it down on the worktop. Stuart too came through to the kitchen and walked towards Sam. He wrapped his arms around her waist, 'happy New Year babe,' he whispered before planting a light kiss on her neck.

'Such a shame you weren't there to say that nine hours ago,' Sam muttered. In retrospect however, she probably wouldn't have ended up kissing Phil had Stuart been there.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Sam broke free of Stuart's embrace and turned to face him, her face showing all the emotions that had been going round her head since Stuart hadn't showed up at the pub; anger, sadness. 'I don't see why you're so upset,' Stuart said.

Sam's eyes met his and looked up at him, 'you can't see why I'm so upset?' Sam asked incredulously. 'I'll tell you shall I?'

'Please do enlighten me,'

'You promised me yesterday evening that you'd come to The Seven Bells and see in the New Year with me and the rest of the relief, you didn't, you broke that promise,' Sam said, she was desperately trying to keep her voice level but she was certainly losing that battle, her anger towards Stuart was getting the better of her.

'I'm sorry Sam, I just didn't feel like it, after doing all that paperwork, I was tired and coming down the pub to meet you was the last thing I wanted to do,'

This had been the wrong thing to say, Sam turned away from him, she didn't want Stuart to see the tears that had just welled up in her eyes. She sniffed before turning back around to face Stuart, 'you could've called me,' she said, still trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

'I didn't want to spoil your evening,'

'Yeah, course,' Sam said sarcastically.

'Just let me make it up to you babe,' Stuart replied as he moved towards her and attempted to envelope her in a hug.

'GET OFF ME!' Sam shouted as she pushed him away.

Sam walked back through to the living room and put the shoes that she'd taken off when she came home back on. Stuart stood in the doorway, 'where are you going?' he asked.

She stood up and turned around, pushing past him as she went towards the sideboard to pick up her handbag. 'Anywhere that doesn't involve breathing the same air as you!' Sam shouted as she walked towards the door and opened it.

'Sam please!' Stuart replied as the door slammed shut in his face.

* * *

Sam turned the corner and stopped, she couldn't believe Stuart sometimes, it was times like these that in some ways, made her regret allowing Stuart to move in with her. Her thoughts went back to the happenings of last night, and the early hours of this morning. The kiss with Phil certainly wouldn't have happened had Stuart been there, perhaps she had enjoyed that kiss, maybe that formed part of the reason why she'd snapped at Stuart. Perhaps the kiss with Phil had showed her another side to life, a side that she hadn't seen for a while. She needed to get a few things straight, maybe seeing Phil again would clear a few things up in her mind.

Sam took her phone out of her bag and dialled Phil's mobile. It rang a few times before he answered, 'hello?' Phil said, it sounded like he had only just woken up.

'Phil, it's me,' Sam replied. 'Can I come over? Stuart and I have had a row and I just need someone to talk to.'

'You're always welcome around mine; I'll see you in a bit,'

'Thanks Phil, I'll see you I a bit, bye,' she said as she hung up.

Sam smiled to herself, maybe now she could talk to Phil about what had happened between them at midnight and see if he wanted to take things any further. She began to walk in the direction of Phil's house, thinking about what had happened between them, did she want to take it any further? She didn't know, maybe hearing Phil's feelings on the kiss would help her get her own feelings straight.

* * *

Sam knocked on his door a little while later. She could see a reflection in the window as Phil unlocked the door, wearing just a pair of trousers. 'You OK Sam?' he asked, his voice full of concern for his best friend.

'If you'd only just woken up when I rang you, you should've said,' Sam replied, dodging Phil's question.

'Trust me Sam, you're worth getting out of bed for,' Phil smiled flirtatiously.

'Well, I'm glad you think so,' Sam smiled at him.

'Come in,' he said as he stepped aside to let Sam in.

Sam closed the door after her, 'go through to the living room Sam, I'll be back in a minute,' Phil said.

'Take as long as you like Phil; I'm not going anywhere,'

Sam smiled at Phil as he went upstairs; she went through to the living room and sat down on the sofa. It hardly seemed like seven and a half hours ago since they'd seen each other last, she reached into her handbag and took her phone out of it. She switched it off and put it back into her bag. Sam was still upset that Stuart hadn't bothered to turn up at the party last night and after storming out on him in the way that she did, Sam knew that Stuart would probably be calling her to apologise. She didn't want to listen to his excuses; she'd had enough of that, for now.

Phil came back downstairs a little while later, smiling to himself. He was pleased that she had chosen to come to him instead of anyone else. She was his best friend and he hated seeing Sam upset, he'd be there for her now and maybe the subject of their kiss at midnight would come up, maybe after that, he would know where he stood.

He went through to the kitchen and flicked the kettle, pulling two cups from the shelf as it boiled. Phil made him and Sam a cup of tea and carried them through to the living room. 'There you go Sam,' he smiled warmly at her as he passed Sam the cup of tea.

'Thanks Phil,' Sam replied as she took the cup from him as he sat down beside her.

'What did happen with you and Stuart?'

'He woke me up about forty five minutes ago, I thought he was going to apologise for missing the party last night,'

'And he didn't?'

Sam shook her head, 'he couldn't understand why I was so upset, I thought that relationships were meant to be based on trust, if they're not, then what's the point?'

Phil put his cup down on the coffee table and gently pulled Sam closer to him, wrapping his arms around her, 'does he know where you are?' he asked.

Sam shook her head, 'I didn't tell him where I was going. I just told him I was going anywhere that didn't involve breathing the same air as him,' she said.

Phil smirked, 'you can stay here as long as you like Sam, it's not a problem,'

Sam glanced up at him and smiled, 'what would I do without you eh Phil?' she asked.

'I don't know, but your life would be much duller without me, as would mine be without you,'

Sam smiled at him, _why is that he can make me feel special in ways that Stuart can't?_ she thought. 'There was a reason why I came to you, you know,' she finally said.

'Was there?'

Sam nodded, 'it's about the kiss, I just wanna know where it leaves us,' she said.

'Same as we were before, we can just put it down to the party spirit, if you don't want to take it any further, then that's fine with me Sam,' Phil replied.

Sam smiled at him as Phil picked up his cup and began to drink his tea. She was glad it hadn't done anything to change things between them. However, that kiss had brought a lot of things to the forefront of Sam's mind, her feelings for Phil, for one thing. Were her feelings for Phil purely platonic or did they go deeper, deeper than friendship, deeper than any feeling she'd experienced towards Stuart?

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Please review xxx**


	5. One Step Further

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Jodie, Amy, Laura (S-Nixon), Ellyce, Lynsey and Sam for reviewing. **

**There's just one scene in this chapter that may be unsuitable for younger readers, just to warn you!**

**Please keep reviewing, luv ya all Gemz xx**

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**Chapter 5- One Step Further**

'What happens now?' Sam asked cautiously as she took another sip from her tea.

Phil looked at her as he put his cup down and smiled, 'whatever you want,' he replied.

Sam sat up, putting her tea down on the coffee table as she did so. She turned so that she was facing Phil and leant across, brushing her lips softly against his, to see if he'd respond to her. Sam pulled away and gazed into Phil's eyes, his gaze locking with hers. She searched his gaze, looking for some kind of sign and in those few seconds, she saw something, she could feel it too and this was something that, to the best of her knowledge, she had never experienced with Stuart. It was that feeling of pure unbridled passion.

She leant back across towards Phil and her lips captured his once more, he immediately deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer to him as Sam wrapped her arms around his neck. Phil moved his hands under Sam's top, pulling at the bottom of it. He pulled away and lifted Sam's top over her head, dropping it onto the floor. He kissed Sam again, wrapping his arms back around her body. Sam stood up, pulling Phil up with her as they kissed again and Sam wrapped her arms around Phil. He lifted her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and moved his kisses down her neck, gently sucking at her skin as he did so. He kissed her on the lips once more and pulled away, 'let's take his upstairs,' Sam whispered.

'Are you sure about this?'

'Sam nodded, 'I'm sure,' she reassured him.

Phil smiled and kissed her before leaving the living room and carrying her upstairs to his bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

* * *

Stuart sat down on the sofa, sighing quietly to himself. He knew that he was probably going to upset Sam by not turning up at the party- he had done the one thing that he promised he would never do to Sam, he'd let her down. Stuart couldn't change what had happened last night, even if he wanted to. The only thing he could do was try to explain why he'd changed his mind about going to the pub. He had tried to do that this morning but Sam was still understandably angry about him not turning up. He knew it might take a while for her to forget what had happened but he didn't want to lose Sam over something as stupid as that. Stuart took his mobile out of his pocket and dialled Sam's mobile number. She had switched it off, he ended the called and drafted out s text to her instead which said: _Sam, I'm sorry about everything. Please come home, Stuart xx _He pressed send and watched until the screen on his phone indicated that the message had been sent. He wondered how long it would take for her to reply, he had no idea where she was or what she was doing. The only thing he did know was that she wasn't with him.

* * *

Phil dropped Sam to her feet and kissed her passionately on the lips, his tongue slipping into her mouth as she reached up to undo the buttons on his shirt. Sam pulled away and began to kiss down Phil's chest, lightly tickling him with her teasing, feather light kisses. He shrugged the shirt to the floor as he kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and reaching around to unzip her skirt, which fell to the floor. Sam kicked her shoes off and stood on the balls of her feet, wrapping her arms around Phil's neck, pulling him closer to her. Sam moved her hands down hi chest until they reached the waistband of his trousers, she dragged the belt from them and dropped it to the floor before setting about undoing his trousers, which soon joined the pile of clothes beneath their feet, they were too engrossed in each other to care.

The remainder of their clothes were soon discarded and Phil gently pulled Sam over to the bed. He hadn't bothered to make it so they both slid under the sheets and Phil moved to position himself directly above Sam, she smiled at him and he gently entered her, making her gasp. Phil's lips met Sam's in a kiss that she immediately deepened by slipping her tongue into his mouth and wrapping her arms back around his neck, preventing him from moving, even if he'd wanted to. After all, they were in no hurry, neither of them wanted to rush what they had waited so long for.

* * *

An hour or so later, Phil lay down beside Sam, their breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. He turned to face her and smiled, 'you OK?' he asked, he voice laced with affection.

'Fine thanks,' Sam replied. 'You?'

'Never better,' Phil smiled.

Sam smiled back at him before leaning across to kiss him softly on the lips. They pulled away and exchanged another smile. Sam rested her head against Phil's chest; he wrapped his arms around her. Their eyelids began to close and they soon asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

Stuart looked up at the clock on the living room mantelpiece; it now read 1pm in the afternoon. It had been just over three hours since he'd texted Sam and he'd not received a reply. He was beginning to wonder where she was, Stuart had never seen her like that before. They'd had arguments like any other normal couple but they had never resulted in either of them storming out. He walked towards the TV and switched it on, picking up the remote and wandering back towards the sofa. Stuart flicked aimlessly through the channels, trying to find something to hold his attention at least that might stop him from wondering where Sam was.

After about fifteen minutes, he gave up. Stuart went through to the kitchen and picked his car keys up off the sideboard. He walked into the hallway, towards the front door and opened it. Stuart stepped outside and locked the door after him; he walked down the garden path and got into his car before driving off.

* * *

Phil woke up a little while later, he looked down and his gaze focussed on the woman whose blonde head of hair was still resting upon his chest. He smiled to himself, this was real, he hadn't dreamt it, he had indeed gone all the way with Samantha Nixon. This woman had been the object of his desires for years and Phil knew exactly how he felt about this, he would never regret what had happened, how could he?

What pleased Phil more was the fact that he had a rough idea of how Sam felt about this too. She had wanted it to happen too, he was sure of it. She had the first move; she went to kiss him earlier on when she could've not done that. If she hadn't wanted any of that to happen, then it wouldn't have done, Phil had meant what he said earlier, if she didn't want their midnight kiss to go any further then it didn't have to but what they had now done proved that she had wanted it to go further.

He dropped a light kiss on the top of her head, Sam still didn't stir. He smiled to himself as he felt his eyelids beginning to close as he succumbed to the temptation of sleep once more.

Sam woke up a few minutes later, she gently lifted her head off Phil's chest and looked up at him, he was still asleep, she smiled to herself, he looked so peaceful. Sam began to wonder where this would leave them, would this become more or would she end up being another one-night-stand of Phil Hunter's. She knew he'd changed, he didn't do one-night-stands anymore, Sam had never done one-night-stands at all, it was all or nothing for her. She hoped that he didn't regret what had happened and she knew that there was a part of her that didn't regret it either. Sam smiled again to herself, why couldn't she just allow herself to be totally happy, for once in her life. She felt happy lying here with Phil, she felt comfortable with him, which is more than what she felt with Stuart. Maybe that was because she had known Phil for years before they had taken things one step further whereas she had only known Stuart for a few months before they got together.

They had been together for a year and a half now and Sam couldn't help but think that her relationship with Stuart had deteriorated since she became DI nearly a year ago. Stuart didn't know how to cope with his girlfriend being his boss and this had made things difficult for them. Maybe that was why she had turned to Phil so often, whenever she had a problem or just needed someone to talk to; it was always Phil that was there for her. Sam's relationship with Stuart was rocky, that had been emphasised by the way she'd had a go at him for missing the party. She wasn't even sure if she still loved him. Sam had had her reservations about their relationship had never gone away; her true feelings had been suppressed by their mutual attraction. However, she didn't know whether she wanted to up and leave Stuart, throw him out of her house, she didn't know exactly how Phil felt about her, their situation had just got a lot more complicated.

Sam planted a light kiss on Phil's chest and rested her head back on it. Phil began to stir and woke up, looking down at Sam. 'Hey you,' he whispered.

Sam looked up, 'hey Phil,' she smiled at him.

'How long have you been awake?'

'Not long, a few minutes,'

Phil smiled at her as he leant downwards and kissed Sam softly on the lips. She deepened the kiss and pulled him down on top of her. They pulled away when they heard a knock at the door. 'Just ignore it Phil,' Sam whispered as she pulled him back towards her.

'It might be important,' Phil said as he got out of bed and wrapped the sheet around his lower body before going to the window to see who it was. He could just about make out the figure on the doorstep. It couldn't be him, surely it couldn't be him but Phil was pretty sure it was. 'Who is it?' Sam asked.

Phil turned to face her, 'its Stuart,' he said.

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Will Stuart discover what's going on? Please review :)**


	6. Doorstep Arguments

**Hey guys, another update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Jodie, Laura (S-Nixon), Amy, Sam, Lynsey and Ellyce. Please keep doing so, luv ya loads Gemz xx**

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Chapter 6- Doorstep Arguments**

Sam looked up at him, the look on her face was somewhere between shock and amusement. 'Are you joking?' she finally asked.

Phil shook his head, 'I wish I was,' he replied. 'But it's him, I'm sure it is.'

'What are we going to do?'

Phil walked over to the pile of clothes and, after throwing the sheet covering his lower body back onto the bed, began to dress himself. 'I'll go down and speak to him, try to keep him on the doorstep but if he decides to barge into the house, you lock yourself in the bathroom, I don't think he'll come in anyway, just in case,' he said as he buttoned up his shirt.

Sam nodded as Phil walked back towards her and pressed a light kiss against her forehead. Phil closed the bedroom door and began to descend the staircase; he ran his fingers through his hair and ruffled it up, to make it look like he had just got out of bed. Well, he had but he obviously didn't want Stuart to know who he was in bed with.

Phil opened the door and saw Stuart turn around as soon as he heard it open. 'What do _you_ want?' he asked, taking care to put as much emphasis as he could muster into the word 'you'.

'There's no need to be like that Phil,' Stuart replied. 'Do you know where Sam is?'

'Why do you think I'd know where she is?'

'You're friends; surely she'd have said something to you,'

'Even if I did know where Sam is, I certainly wouldn't tell you,'

'Why not?'

'Let me think,' Phil said, furrowing his eyebrows, 'didn't you promise Sam that you'd go to the party last night?'

'Yes but…'

'Sam was gutted when she realised that you weren't coming. You let her down, it's as simple as that,' Phil cut over Stuart.

'I just wanna put things right,'

'Yeah, of course you do,' Phil sarcastically said. 'If you don't do what's right by Sam, I will be making it more my business than it already is.'

'What goes on between me and Sam is our business, as in none of yours,'

'Sam's my best friend and if you let her down again, you'll have me to answer to,'

'Just answer me straight, do you know where Sam is?'

'No, I don't know where Sam is,' Phil lied. 'Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed,' he added as he slammed the door in Stuart's face.

Phil walked into the living room and looked out of the window. He saw Stuart walk down the path and turn the corner, 'prat,' Phil muttered.

He was glad that Stuart hadn't barged into the house and searched every room of the house, that would've made everything more difficult. Phil couldn't stand Stuart, that was a statement of fact and Sam was his best friend so he felt it was his duty to stand up for her, he couldn't resist having a go at Stuart either. Phil had seen how gutted Sam was when she realised that Stuart wasn't coming, Stuart hadn't been there to see Sam's reaction and therefore, he perhaps didn't understand why she had taken it so badly.

Phil left the living room and went back upstairs and into his bedroom, he opened the door and saw that Sam was fast asleep. Phil smiled to himself as he walked over to his side of the bed and undressed himself before getting back into bed beside Sam. He looked towards her and leant across, brushing his lips against her forehead. Sam's eyes fluttered open and her gaze settled on Phil. 'Hey,' she smiled at him, 'has he gone?'

Phil nodded, 'yep, he's gone,' he replied.

'What did he want?'

'He wanted to know where you were,'

'What did you say?'

'I told him I didn't know where you were,'

Sam looked up at him, 'thanks Phil,' she smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.

Phil wrapped his arms around her and planted a light kiss on Sam's neck, 'I wasn't going to have him find out what we'd been up to,' he said.

Sam pulled away and pulled back the bedclothes, 'I'm gonna have a shower, do you wanna join me?' she asked, a sexy glint beginning to appear in her eyes.

A large grin began to emerge on Phil's face; he too pulled back the sheets and followed Sam into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sam and Phil re-emerged from the bathroom about fifteen minutes later, both wrapped in fluffy white towels. 'That was fun,' he smirked as he walked over to Sam and pressed a kiss against her neck.

Sam smirked back at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. 'What are you going to do about Stuart?' Phil asked a few minutes later.

'I don't know, I've got a plan,'

'Oooh, what sort of plan?'

'I'll let you know,' Sam turned around and smiled at him.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Phil softly on the lips, they pulled away. 'He let me down Phil and I'm going to forget that in a hurry,' Sam said.

'I know that,' Phil replied. 'Are you going to give me any clues?'

'Well…if Stuart comes into work complaining tomorrow morning, then you'll know why,' Sam smirked.

'I'll bear that in mind,'

Sam smiled at him, 'I'd better be getting back,' she said, with a hint of reluctance in her voice.

'You don't sound too keen,' Phil said, picking up on the reluctance in her voice.

Sam looked up and smiled at him, 'I've got to go sometime,' she said.

'You don't have to, if you don't want to, I said you're welcome to stay here as long as you like, I don't mind in fact, I'd rather enjoy the company,' Phil replied, a small grin beginning to creep across his face. 'I could make up the spare bed if you wanted to stay.'

'Phil,' Sam said. 'Be realistic, you really think I'm gonna want to sleep in the spare bedroom when you're just down the corridor.'

'Well, now you put it like that,' Phil smiled as he pulled Sam closer to him. 'So, do you wanna stay over?'

'Nah, it's fine Phil, it's my house and I'm not going to let Stuart push me out,'

'That's my girl,' Phil whispered as he kissed the top of Sam's head.

'Seriously Phil, I had better be getting back,'

Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and began to get dressed. Phil got dressed too and when he was fully dressed, he followed Sam downstairs. She entered the living room once more and picked up her top, pulling it over head. 'I'll see you tomorrow Phil,' Sam said as she walked into the hall.

Phil nodded as he leant down and kissed her softly on the lips, she deepened the kiss, placing one hand on the back of his neck. They pulled away and exchanged smiles, 'see you Phil,' Sam said as she opened the door and left.

Sam walked down the path, 'see you Sam,' Phil called after her.

She turned around and smiled at him before she started to walk and turned the corner.

Phil closed the door and smiled to himself, all the while wondering what Sam's plan was.

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	7. Growing Apart

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Sam, KittyKat2003, Ellyce, Laura (S-Nixon), Jodie, Amy and Lynsey.**

**This is for all of you guys but especially Jodie, who helped me out with the answer to a question I needed answering for this chapter. Thanks huni!**

**Luv ya all Gemz xx**

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**Chapter 7- Growing Apart**

Sam started the slow walk back to her and Stuart's house, thinking about everything that had happened in the last twenty hours. Stuart had let her down, it was as simple as that, she'd never let blokes get away with letting her down, Stuart was going to be no exception.She still wasn't entirely sure about her feelings for him, it was undeniable though, they had grown apart over the last year, especially since her promotion to DI. Stuart couldn't deal with the fact that his girlfriend was also his boss. She thought that perhaps it would've been better for them if she had transferred to another nick when she did get the promotion; they would've seen less of each other but maybe that would've been better for their relationship, without the added complication of Sam being Stuart's boss. Still, if she had moved to another station, there would have been one person she'd miss above anyone else; Phil. He was her best friend and if Sam was totally honest with herself, she would probably miss him more than she would Stuart. The deterioration of Sam and Stuart's relationship had prompted her to look at a few things, she could've quite easily walked away from him when their relationship had started to worsen but she hadn't, which indicated that perhaps there was something, she must have loved him back then because otherwise she would have left him. Whether Sam felt the same way about their relationship now was a different matter.

Then there was Phil, Sam smiled to herself, he was her best friend, was he just her best friend though? Could be become more than that, a lover perhaps or maybe even a boyfriend, if she dumped Stuart of course. Truth was she had wanted it to happen; she had wanted to sleep with Phil. Sam had wanted it to happen earlier on too, when she was over at Phil's in the early hours but it hadn't because her head was telling her it shouldn't happen. Sam was tired of going along with what her head told her to do, she wanted to go with her heart and now she had. However, Sam was scared and slightly nervous about the possibility of allowing Phil into her life like she hadn't before, she was contemplating thoughts of a possible relationship with him. A relationship between the two of them would only occur if she finished things with Stuart and because she had no idea what she was going to do about him, that it made it difficult to say for definite whether she and Phil would ever become a proper couple. At the moment, Sam was merely fantasising about the possibility of a relationship between them. Could she leave Stuart walk straight into Phil's welcoming arms? Phil Hunter, once the great philanderer, now ready to settle down…with her, perhaps? She didn't know, all she did know that she was confused as to her feelings for both Phil and Stuart; she had slept with Phil, which meant that perhaps there were some feelings there, feelings that may be a lot less platonic than she realised. Whether her feelings for Phil went deeper than anything she felt or had ever felt towards Stuart wasn't completely obvious to her, yet. She knew that her true feelings for Phil would manifest themselves eventually.

She loved being in Phil's company, it felt so natural to her, being with him, that probably stemmed from the fact that they had been friends for years and their friendship had evolved during that time. She felt so comfortable being with Phil, like she could tell him anything. Whereas with Stuart, she had never been as comfortable and there were things that he didn't know about Sam and vice versa too. Although Stuart had mentioned to Sam about his previous girlfriends when they first got together, he had never mentioned to her that his long-term fiancée left him for another woman, her best friend. He had never mentioned that to her, purely because he found it a fairly embarrassing topic. There were no secrets between Sam and Phil, which was what made their friendship so special.

A plan of action had been quietly formulating in her mind's eye ever since she had realised that he wasn't coming the night before, she was going to make him regret letting her down.

* * *

She smiled as she approached her house and saw that Stuart's car wasn't in the driveway. He was obviously still driving around, trying to work out where she was. She unlocked the door to her house and dropped her bag on the sideboard beside the telephone. She took her shoes off and went upstairs and into Abi's bedroom. Sam had insisted on keeping it exactly how it was left, just in case Abi ever wanted to come back down and stay for a few days. Sam opened up the wardrobe and stood on her tiptoes to reach the top shelf. She pulled down the spare duvet and dropped it onto Abi's bed. She closed the wardrobe door and gathered the duvet in her arms; she went back downstairs and deposited it on the sofa in the living room.

Sam walked through to the kitchen and found herself a bottle of red wine, she poured herself a glass and went back through to the living room and sat down on the sofa; the same thoughts continuing to circle her mind. Both Phil and Stuart had their faults but in the end, it came down to who Sam loved the most. At this moment in time, she wasn't entirely sure which of the two men in her life she loved the most, she was with Stuart but perhaps the fact that she had been friends with Phil for years had given their relationship a chance to develop, whereas everything that had happened with Stuart had been rushed, it was a whirlwind and maybe Sam regretted taking things as fast as they had, maybe if they'd taken things slower, their relationship would have been better off.

* * *

Stuart arrived back at their place a little while later. He unlocked the door and saw Sam's bag on the sideboard. 'Sam!' he called.

'In here!' she called back.

Stuart went through to the living room and saw Sam sat on the sofa in their living room, still clutching a glass of red wine. 'Where have you been babe? I was getting worried,' he said.

'Do you really care?' Sam asked coldly.

Stuart walked over to her and knelt down on the floor, resting his hands on her knee, her feet her curled up underneath her, 'of course I care babe, why do you think I've been out looking for you?'

'Because you felt guilty about letting me down last night,'

'How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?'

'Sorry isn't good enough, you say you're sorry but you don't really mean it, you knew exactly what you were doing when you decided to not bother showing up last night so what's the point in apologising,'

'I'll find some other way of making things up to you,'

'It's gonna take a hell of a lot to do that,'

Stuart looked across, 'what's that doing down here?' he asked.

Sam followed his gaze and realised he was looking at the duvet that she'd brought down. 'Oh that,' she said. 'That's down here because…you're sleeping down here tonight.' she added casually.

'You what?' Stuart said.

'You heard me,' Sam calmly replied.

'I'm sleeping down here?'

Sam nodded, 'well, it's either down here or in your car because you sure as hell aren't sharing my bed,' she said.

'Sam, I'll make it up to you, I promise,'

'And until you do, you're gonna be sleeping down here,' Sam said firmly as she left the living room and retrieved her bag from the sideboard before going upstairs.

* * *

Sam emerged from her bathroom later that evening, dressed in her light pink pyjamas. She pulled back the covers on her bed and climbed inside, pulling the duvet up around her. She was still thinking about the events of the last day or so, Stuart had shown that he cared about her, he had gone out looking for her but that wasn't for Sam. She was prepared to forgive Stuart just like that, that conversation earlier had cleared up a few things in her mind, she knew that Stuart cared for her but the way she reacted showed, in her mind, that she had lost some, if not all the love that she had had for Stuart. Maybe this was an indication of how much their relationship had deteriorated and perhaps it had just run its course. Maybe now was the time to get out and start again, with someone else, perhaps if she dumped Stuart, she might be less nervous about entering a relationship with Phil. Her apprehension about entering a relationship with him probably stemmed from the fact that he had cheated on most of his previous partners. He had changed, she knew this but that didn't stop her from harbouring reservations about a possible relationship with him. She looked towards her clock; it now read 10:30. She reached towards the lamp on her bedside table and turned it off, plunging the room into total darkness.

* * *

Phil climbed into bed a little while later; his clock read 11:15. He pulled his duvet up around him and a familiar smell began to fill his nostrils. Phil smiled to himself as he remembered what had happened between him and Sam that day. He could never regret what had happened today, he was in love with Sam and dreamt about this moment many times before, dreaming about it though was different from the reality, the reality was a million times better. He wanted a relationship with Sam more than anything but he knew he'd lost his chance when she got together with Stuart a year and a half ago. Over the past year however, he too had watched the relationship between his best friend and the bloke who he was competing with for Sam's affections deteriorate. Sam was his best friend and yet, he still found it difficult to suppress his feelings of delight that Sam and Stuart's relationship was failing. He tried to keep his feelings hidden and had been there for Sam when she needed someone most, he was there doing the job that perhaps Stuart should've been doing. He needed to know how Sam felt about today's events to see if things could possibly progress further. He had changed for Sam; he had changed his playboy ways because he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance of winning Sam's affections any other way. He couldn't stand Stuart, Phil didn't think he deserved to be with Sam, she deserved someone better. Him perhaps? He wanted Sam to return his feelings for her; he loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone. Cindy and Kate could never match up to her. He didn't want to be 'just friends' with Sam, he wanted to be a permanent fixture in her life. Her boyfriend, the man she chose above everyone else.

He sighed to himself; these were pipedreams until Sam admitted what he hoped that she would eventually admit, that their relationship did stand a chance, if she dumped Stuart.

Phil sat up and moved his pillow out from underneath him and swapped it with the pillow on the side of the bed that Sam had slept on earlier. He lay back down on the pillow, he felt close to Sam this way, he could still smell her and this helped him to remember that he hadn't just dreamt it, she had actually been in his bed. Phil reached out to switch off his lamp and his eyes began to close, his dreams being plagued by one woman and the possibility that this woman would perhaps, eventually return his love.

Please review :)


	8. Making Up Is Hard To Do

**Hey guys, next chapter for you, sorry it's taken so long. Thanks to all who reviewed last time: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), xxXClaireXxx, Jodie, and Lynsey. Thanks also to Barb for reviewing chapters 3-7. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xx**

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Chapter 8- Making Up Is Hard To Do

Sam came downstairs at about seven the next morning, wrapped in her dressing gown. She looked into the living room and saw that Stuart was still asleep on the sofa. She sighed to herself, she still had no idea what she was going to do about him, she was still as confused about her feelings for Stuart as she had been last night. Maybe she could talk to Phil about the events of yesterday, see whether he wanted to take things any further than what they did the day before. Maybe hearing Phil's opinion on yesterday would help her deal with her feelings for Stuart. She had done nothing but think about her feelings for Phil since she'd switched her lamp off. Sam still didn't know how deep her feelings for Phil went but she did know that she didn't regret what had happened yesterday, she had started something and perhaps she wanted to develop to develop further. Sam wasn't sure but hearing Phil's opinion would help her clear things up I her own mind.

Sam left the living room doorway and stood and the bottom of the stairs, she was torn between texting Phil and asking him to meet her at the station or leaving it until they were actually at work. She wanted to know how he felt about yesterday's events but something was holding her back, maybe the fact that Stuart would probably comment on her eagerness to be in work early was stopping her from asking Phil to meet her early. She looked towards the clock on the sideboard, it read 7:15. Sam sighed to herself, Stuart would definitely say something if she went into work before eight. She decided to leave it until they were at work, they might have more time to discuss what had happened.

Sam went back through to the kitchen and began to make herself some breakfast. Sam put a couple of slices of bread into the toaster and flicked on the kettle. She looked over her shoulder and saw Stuart beginning to stir in the living room. He stood up and began to walk through to the kitchen. 'Morning Sam,' he said.

'Morning,' Sam replied coldly as the two slices of toast popped out of the toaster.

'Sam,' Stuart moaned. 'It's killing me sleeping on the sofa,' he added as he felt a twinge in his back.

'Guilty conscience catching up with you is it?'

'Don't be like this Sam,'

'Maybe you should've thought about me before you did what you did on New Year's Eve,' Sam said as she opened the fridge and pulled out the tub of butter, ready to butter her toast.

'I wish you'd stop going on about that,'

'Why should I?' I'm not going to forget what you did in a hurry, you've already proved that our relationship means so little to you,' Sam said as she put the butter back in the fridge and took a bite out of the toast.

'I went out looking for you; surely that shows how much I care for you,'

'Where exactly did you go looking for me, I heard you went to Phil's,' Sam said, she wanted to know exactly what lengths Stuart had gone to find her yesterday, with no success.

'How did you find out?'

Sam froze, she had to think fast, she turned and looked at him, 'he called me not long after you left,' she lied.

'I didn't go straight to Phil's, I went to Jo's first and she suggested that Phil might know where you are,'

'What did he say?' Sam asked, trying desperately to make out that she didn't know exactly what Phil had said to Stuart and what Stuart had said to Phil.

'You spoke to him didn't you?' Stuart asked and Sam nodded. 'Didn't he tell you?'

'Tell me what?' Sam replied.

'Well, after spending the first few minutes insulting me for letting you down. He eventually told me he didn't know where you were and slammed the door in my face, saying that he was going back to bed, probably going back to some tart he picked up on his pub crawl on New Year's Eve,'

'Stuart!' Sam exclaimed. 'He doesn't do that anymore, as well you know. Phil wasn't out on a pub crawl on New Year's Eve; he was at the pub with me,'

'He was at the pub with you,' Stuart repeated incredulously.

Sam nodded, 'that was where you should've been,'

'Why do you have to keep making me out to be the bad guy?'

'Because you are,' Sam said. 'If our relationship means anything to you, you're gonna have to prove to me how serious you are about us,'

'How am I supposed to do that?'

Sam finished her toast and stood up, 'use your imagination Stuart,' she said. 'I don't have all the answers.'

She walked towards the door and left the kitchen, heading towards the staircase and up to her bedroom. Stuart sighed to himself, how was he going to make things up to Sam?

* * *

Sam re-emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later. She walked over to her wardrobe and picked out her clothes for that day, a light blue top and a black knee-length skirt. She got dressed and went back downstairs. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and put her black knee-high boots on. She picked her bag and her keys up from the sideboard before calling through to Stuart, 'I'll see you at work Stuart,' she called.

Stuart poked his head around the kitchen door, 'this early?' he questioned, looking down at his watch, 'it's only 7:45.'

Sam shrugged her shoulders and headed for the door, closing it as she left.

* * *

Sam pulled up her car outside the station a little while later, sighing to herself as she did so. The argument with Stuart earlier had confirmed on thing in her mind, she was beginning to lose faith in her relationship with Stuart, she didn't know if she still loved but one thing was sure, they're relationship was weakening and it seemed less and less likely that they would ever patch things up again. They had patched things up after the miscarriage of their baby but things had never got back to the way they were beforehand. Sam knew that they were happy before the pregnancy but that had changed things between them, for the worse. For some people, pregnancy did change their relationships for the better, not for Sam and Stuart though. Stuart wasn't keen on the idea of a baby in the first place, he saw the baby as the first sign of a commitment between them and perhaps, he hadn't been ready to make such a big step in their relationship. Sam instinctively knew that when she broke the news of her miscarriage to Stuart, things in their relationship were going to change if they stayed together. They had agreed to patch things up, in the hope that they could get things back to how they were before the baby came along and that not only complicated things, but also made it worse. Maybe everything that Sam had once felt for Stuart had gone, maybe there was nothing left between them.

Phil had been there for her throughout the whole thing and had never judged her because of the things she was saying or the decisions she made. She knew she didn't regret what had happened yesterday and maybe it was time for her to discover whether her feelings for Phil did go deeper than friendship and overrode those that had once been there between her and Stuart. Maybe it was time for her to begin a new chapter in her life, without Stuart, with Phil.

She got out of her car and locked it after her before heading into the station. Sam made her way up to CID and entered her and Neil's shared office. Neil wasn't in when she got there so Sam sat down at her desk, looking towards the pile of paperwork that she had completely forgotten about. The events of yesterday had driven all thoughts of paperwork out of her mind, so much had happened since she'd left the station on New Year's Eve. She sighed to herself, contemplating the conversation that she would hopefully have with Phil later on today. She didn't know how he felt about them sleeping together yesterday; it would make things a lot clearer in her mind when she heard his views on their situation.

Neil entered the office a little while later, 'you're not usually in this early Sam,' he laughed as he went to sit down at his desk.

Sam shot him a look, 'what's up with you?' he asked.

'Don't ask, it's a long story,'

'Is it about Stuart?'

Sam looked up at him, 'how did you guess?'

'I'm a detective; it's my job to uncover the things that people don't want to tell me,'

'It's not that I didn't want to tell anyone, I just feel so let down by him, he promised me he'd come to the pub and see in the New Year with us, but he didn't,'

'Has he said anything to you?'

Sam shook her head, 'not much,' she said.

Sam and Neil were disturbed from their conversation when the doors to CID swung open and Stuart entered the main office. He walked gingerly towards his desk and sat down. Neil and Sam watched him before Neil turned back to Sam, 'what's up with him?' he asked.

Sam turned in her swivel chair and faced Neil, 'I'm his girlfriend Neil, not his keeper,' she replied coldly.

'Come on Sam, don't make out you don't care about him because I know deep down, that you do,'

'Really?' she questioned. 'Maybe things have changed.'

'They can't have changed that much between you in such a short space of time,'

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'he's probably got a sore back,' she said.

'Why's that?'

'Because he slept on the sofa last night,'

'Ooohoo, things are getting bad between you then?'

Sam smiled at him as a knock on the door disturbed them; Jack opened the office door and looked from Neil to Sam and back again. 'You two coming to the briefing?' he asked.

Neil nodded, 'we'll be with you in a minute guv,' he said.

Jack nodded towards the two of them as he closed the door after him. Neil stood up and began to walk towards it, opening the door and walking towards the CID briefing room, with Sam following in his wake.

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	9. My Only Weakness Is You

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Thanks to all who revied last time: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Sam, Jodie, Laura (S-Nixon), SassyJ and DetBarb.**

**This chapter is dedicated entirely to my Huxon Twin, she knows who she is, for reading this chapter through ages ago and beta-ing it for me. Thanks huni!**

**Luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

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Chapter 9- My Only Weakness Is You

Sam entered the briefing room just behind Neil, most of the chairs were already occupied, the only available seat was next to Phil. She was trying her best to conceal her delight at this; her thoughts had hardly left him since yesterday. Sam couldn't stop thinking about him; she squeezed past a few of her colleagues and sat down beside Phil. He turned to face her and flashed one of his trademark grins in her direction. 'I missed you when you left yesterday,' Phil whispered.

'Don't Phil,' she muttered. 'Not here.'

'When then? I wanna know where I stand,'

'Maybe later,'

Sam turned her head to face Jack as began the briefing. She could hear Jack talking but no words were registering in her head, her mind was elsewhere. She was too busy thinking about Phil and Stuart, mainly Phil and how she'd allowed things to get this complicated to give Jack's briefing a second thought. It was true, she did have a penchant for bad boys: Glen and Peter had both turned out to be bad for her. When she first met Phil, he had had a bit of a reputation for being a bad boy. He wasn't any longer though, he had changed his ways, for her. She shook her head slightly, mentally scolding herself for thinking like that. Sam was with Stuart, things weren't good between them and she wasn't even sure if she ever wanted to make things up with him. Putting her feelings about Phil and Stuart aside, Stuart didn't have a reputation for being a bad boy; he was the best man that she had been with. She had a weakness for bad boys and although he no long had that reputation, her only weakness was Phil.

She jumped slightly as she felt a hand on her knee. Sam looked around, Phil was still looking forward and listening intently to the briefing, obviously paying more attention than she was. Sam sighed to herself and she turned back to face Jack, trying to take in what he was telling them. Her attention soon switched back as the hand on her knee began to move from her knee and upwards until Phil's hand had almost disappeared up her skirt. She took a deep breath, trying to contain her joy and having Phil so close to her. Her heart rate had sped up quite significantly since Phil had rested his hand on her knee. Sam could've taken his hand off her leg but truth be told, she didn't want to. She was enjoying this contact and she knew that she would miss it if she moved Phil's hand away.

Phil smirked to himself; he knew what effect this was having on her. He could feel her breath on his neck every time she turned to face him. He needed to know where he stood in Sam's mind; he needed to know whether he stood a chance of ever winning Sam's heart. He had fallen in love with her, he wanted to be with her, no-one else. He knew he faced competition for her affections from Stuart but after New Year's Eve, he thought he might stand a chance of winning the prize- the heart of Samantha Nixon.

Then all of a sudden, Phil's hand left her leg. She looked around and wondered why his hand had suddenly left her. She realised that everyone had begun to move, Sam took a deep breath and she tried to forget the pleasant feeling she had just experienced. She stood up and sighed to herself before leaving the briefing room.

Phil sat down at his desk and pulled forward a sheaf of paperwork, he looked around as Sam walked past him, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him before heading into her office, closing the door after her. He sighed to herself as he turned his head back to his paperwork, she captivated him. He couldn't stop himself eyeing her up, even though he knew that Stuart was watching from the other side of the office.

At that moment, Stuart stood up and began to walk towards the water cooler to get himself a drink. He felt another twinge as he walked towards it. Phil noticed and smirked to himself. Stuart began to walk back towards his desk. He cautiously looked towards Sam's office before he spoke, 'what's up with you Stu?' Phil called.

Stuart turned around to face him, 'what's it to you?' he asked frostily.

'I'm just curious,'

He walked over to Phil's desk, 'Sam made me sleep on the sofa last night,' he admitted.

'Oh dear,' Phil replied sarcastically, he was trying to stop a small smirk creeping across his face. 'How come?'

'She was still upset that I didn't turn up on New Year's Eve…' Stuart started.

'And you're surprised?' Phil cut in incredulously.

'Well, yeah, I didn't expect her to go that far, I thought she'd just let it go,'

'You obviously don't know Sam as well as you thought,'

'It's no big deal,'

'What do you mean it's no big deal?' Phil hissed. 'You promised that you'd be there and you broke that promise, she trusted you and you let her down, I'm not surprised she made you sleep on the sofa.'

'How did I know you'd take her side?'

'Sam's my best friend and it's you that's in the wrong,' Phil said.

Stuart muttered to himself as he walked back towards his desk and sat down. Phil smiled to himself, it was now clear to him what Sam's plan was; she was going to make Stuart pay for letting her down. A thought suddenly occurred to him, was he just an elaborate way of getting back at Stuart? Was he being used to get revenge on Stuart? He needed to know where he stood, now more than ever.

He left his paperwork and walked towards Sam and Neil's office and knocked on the door. 'Come in!' she called.

Phil pushed down the handle and opened the door, he stepped inside the office and Sam looked up at him. 'What can I do for you Phil?' he asked.

'I hear you and Stuart haven't made up yet,' Phil replied.

Sam sighed to herself and put her pen down, she looked up at Phil. 'Close the door,' she said.

Phil did as she asked and turned to face her afterwards he did so. 'I made him sleep on the sofa last night,' Sam admitted. 'I don't want him anywhere near me until he's apologised for letting me down.'

Phil smiled at her, 'what are you smiling about?' Sam asked.

'I'm just pleased that you're not letting him get away with it, he's got a sore back this morning,' Phil replied

'Good,'

'There's something I need to ask you Sam,'

'What is it?'

'I meant what I said earlier, I need to know where I stand with you, am I just an elaborate way of getting back at Stuart or is there a chance that there could be a future for us?'

Sam looked at Phil and walked towards him, 'is that what you think?' she asked. 'Do you really think that I'm just using to you to get back at him?'

'Of course I don't Sam; I just need to know where I stand,'

Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck and brought his face closer to hers, their lips met in a kiss. Phil responded and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around Sam's waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she allowed her tongue to enter his mouth and clash with his. They pulled away and smiled at each other, 'do you believe me now?' Sam asked.

'I never said I didn't believe you in the first place,' Phil replied. 'Of course I believe you Sam.'

'Good, I don't wanna lose you Phil,'

'I don't wanna lose you either Sam,' Phil said. 'Where do we go from here?'

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'we'll just carry on, we've got to keep this a secret, Stuart can't find out,' she replied.

'I know that Sam, I can keep a secret, I've kept a few of yours in the past,'

'You have indeed,' Sam smiled. 'You'd better be getting back, before you're missed.'

'I doubt anyone would miss me,' Phil said as he opened the door.

'I would,' Sam whispered.

Phil smiled to himself as he left the office and closed the door after him.

Sam walked back over to her desk and sat down, sighing happily to herself. She didn't know what she going to do about Stuart yet but what she did know was she wasn't to take him back just yet, Sam wasn't even sure if she wanted to. She did know that she was really enjoying having two men fighting for her affections. For now, she was just going to see how things played out; Sam fully intended to make a decision on this, just not yet.

* * *

Phil knocked on her office door again later that afternoon. 'Come in!' Sam called.

Phil entered the office and smiled at her, 'you'd better watch it DS Hunter, people will start to talk,' she smiled.

Phil smiled at her, 'what did you want?' Sam asked.

'I was just wondering if you would let me take you out for dinner tonight,' Phil replied.

Sam looked at him, too taken aback to speak, 'OK, I get the hint, wrong time,' Phil said after a moment's silence.

'It's not that Phil,' Sam replied. 'What will I say to Stuart?'

'Just feed him some story, please Sam,'

Sam looked at him and her face softened, 'go on then,' Sam relented.

'Thanks Sam,' Phil replied as he kissed her forehead. 'I'll pick you up round the corner from yours at about seven.' he added, he understood the need for their affair to be kept a secret, especially from Stuart.

'Sounds good,'

Phil smiled at Sam once more and opened the office door before leaving, closing it after him.

Sam smiled to herself, she had a date, now all she had to do was work out what to tell Stuart…

* * *

Sam looked up at the clock in her office, it read 5:30. She sighed to herself as she began to gather her stuff together. She had an hour and a half to prepare for her meal with Phil. Sam picked up her bag and opened the office door and looked around the office, she couldn't see Stuart anyway. She assumed that he'd either already gone or was busy doing something else, not that she was bothered. She left the main CID office and descended the staircase before leaving the station to prepare for her date with Phil.

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	10. You Know Me So Well

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed last time: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), SassyJ, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon) and Barb. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxx**

**Chapter 10- You Know Me So Well**

Sam pulled up outside her and Stuart's house a little while later. Stuart's car wasn't in the driveway so she assumed that he was still at work and pulled her car up in the driveway. Sam got out and locked the car after her before heading towards her house and opening the door.

Sam took her shoes off and left them by the door, which she locked behind her before going through to the kitchen. Sam walked over the bench and put her bag down but as she did so, her phone began to bleep inside. She unzipped her bag and delved inside and fished her phone out, she had a text from Phil. Sam opened it and read it, a small grin creeping across her face. The text read: _Can't wait to see you P x_.

Sam typed out a reply saying: _Neither can I, see you soon S x_.

Sam put her phone back into her bag and left it on the bench. She left the kitchen and went upstairs, into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

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Stuart pulled up the house just before 6:15. He saw Sam's car parked up in the driveway so he knew he'd just have to park his car on the road. Stuart sighed to himself as he parked his car just outside his and Sam's house. He sighed to himself, he still had no idea how he was going to make things up to her, he knew he wasn't going to win back Sam's trust just like that. He knew that he had let her down by not turning up on New Year's Eve and he would have to do something quite special to win her back.

Stuart locked his car up and walked towards the door, which he unlocked and entered. He closed the door behind him and looked down as she saw Sam's shoes where she had left them. 'Sam!' he called.

He didn't get an answer. 'Sam!' he called again.

Still, no answer. Stuart sighed to himself as he walked through to the living room and sat down on the sofa.

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Sam emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in her dressing gown. She had heard Stuart calling her name but she hadn't answered him. She was still angry about how he couldn't seem to grasp why she was so upset about him not turning up on New Year's Eve, he obviously didn't care about her as much as she thought he did. Sam needed him to prove her wrong, to prove that their relationship did mean more to him than he showing her at the moment.

Sam walked over to her wardrobe and opened it, hoping that the perfect outfit for her date with Phil would just jump out at her, unfortunately she had no such luck. She sighed to herself as she looked towards her clock on the bedside table, it read 6:35. Sam turned back to her wardrobe and began to search for her outfit. A few minutes later, she pulled out a black dress, very low cut at the front and finished just below her knees. Sam knelt down and moved some outfits out of the way so that she could see the small collection of shoes that resided at the bottom of her wardrobe. She found the pair of silver heels that went perfectly with the black dress that she was planning to wear. Sam stood up and walked back towards the bathroom, with her dress and the shoes, closing the door behind her once more.

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Sam re-emerged from the bathroom about 10minutes later, now dressed in her black dress and silver heels. She looked towards the clock on her bedside table once more; it now read 6:50. She left the bedroom and began to descend the staircase. She reached the bottom of the stairs and walked back towards the kitchen to pick up her handbag. Stuart noticed her and stood up, 'Sam,' he said.

She turned around to face him, 'oh you're home,' she replied.

Stuart nodded, 'I did call you,' he said.

'Did you?'

'Yeah, didn't you hear me?'

'No I didn't,' Sam lied.

Stuart walked into the kitchen towards Sam, 'you look nice,' he whispered to her.

'Don't Stuart,' Sam said.

'Don't what?'

'Don't think that paying me compliments is gonna get you back into my good books, it's going to take a lot more than that for you to redeem yourself,'

'Where are you going?' Stuart asked.

'I'm having dinner with a few old friends,' Sam lied; she obviously wasn't going to tell who she was really going out to dinner with.

'Anyone I know?'

'You know what Stuart, you are unbelievable, don't put on the caring attitude now, it's not going to wash, I don't have to tell you anything,' Sam said as she picked up her bag and began to walk away.

'Oh and by the way Stuart,' she said as she turned around. 'Don't think that just because I'm going out, that means you can sleep in my bed because it doesn't. I'm sure you can remember where you put the duvet this morning, you can put it to good use.'

'Don't you think you've punished me enough?'

'No, not yet,' Sam replied as she left the kitchen doorway.

Stuart heard the door close after her and sighed to himself, he would have to do something special to persuade her that giving him another chance was the right thing for Sam to do.

* * *

Sam locked the door after her and walked down the driveway, her heels clicking on the pavement beneath her feet. She walked to the corner of her road and stopped. She sighed to herself as she began to lose herself in the same thoughts that had consumed her since that morning, she was thinking about whether Stuart deserved a second chance from her or whether she should leave him and perhaps pursue a relationship with Phil. Trust was one of the most important things in a relationship to Sam, if she and Stuart didn't have that trust, then there wasn't much point in carrying on. She wanted to trust Stuart, she really did but she didn't know whether she could. Sam knew that Phil would never do anything like that to her, she knew that.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Phil's car pulled up in front of her. Phil wound down the window and smiled up at her, 'you OK Sam?' he asked.

'Yeah, I am now,' she smiled at him.

'You look nice,'

'Only nice?' Sam questioned.

'OK then, you look gorgeous Sam,' Phil replied as he put his hand out of the window and took Sam's hand in his, kissing it gently. 'You getting in?'

Sam smiled at him and nodded as she walked round the car and in. Phil waited until she was strapped in before he drove off in the direction of the restaurant.

* * *

Phil pulled up outside the restaurant a little while later. He and Sam entered the restaurant hand in hand. 'Good evening,' the young waiter greeted Sam and Phil. 'Do you have a reservation sir?' he asked, turning to Phil.

Phil nodded, 'yes I do,' he said. 'Under the name of Hunter.'

'If you'd like to follow me Mr and Mrs Hunter,' the waiter replied as he began to walk off.

Sam looked at Phil, he looked back and smiled at her, he had obviously noticed the waiter's misinterpretation as had Sam but didn't bother trying to correct him, he wanted people to think that Sam was his wife.

The waiter showed them to their table and handed both of them a menu each before retreating to leave them to decide. Phil waited for the waiter to disappear before reaching his hand out to Sam. He took Sam's hand in his and began tracing little patterns on the palm of her hand. 'Phil,' Sam said. 'I'm trying to decide what I want to have.'

'What's the point? I know what you're probably going to have anyway,' Phil replied, smirking slightly.

'Really, what do you think I'm going to choose to eat then?'

'I'm not going to tell you,'

'Why?'

'Because you'll probably change your order just to go against me,'

'Don't be silly Phil, I'm not that childish,' Sam said.

'OK then, I'll say the lasagne,'

The waiter reappeared at the table a few minutes later. 'Have you decided yet?' he asked.

'Yes, I'll have the spaghetti bolognaise and a beer please,' Phil replied. 'And you Sam?' he added, turning to face her.

'I'll have the lasagne and a white wine please,' Sam said.

The waiter nodded and took the menus from Sam and Phil before walking away. 'You see?' Phil said. 'I was right.'

Sam nodded, 'you know me so well,' she replied, a slight smiled creeping across her face.

Phil smiled back at her. He still couldn't believe that Sam was sat here with him now. After the incident that morning, Phil was convinced that this wasn't part of Sam's big plan to pay Stuart back for New Year's Eve; she wouldn't use him in that way. She herself had promised him that this wasn't part of her plan to get back at Stuart and Phil believed her. He had fallen in love with her but Sam still had no idea how much she meant to him. He knew he'd have to tell her soon. He couldn't keep his feelings secret forever.

* * *

Phil and Sam left the restaurant a few hours later. 'I had a really time tonight Phil, thanks,' Sam said as she and Phil walked into the car park.

Phil turned to look at her and raised his eyebrows, 'only nice?' he asked.

'OK then, the food was delicious, the company was passable…'

'What do you mean, the company was passable?'

'OK, I'll rephrase it; you're a much better dinner companion than Stuart ever will be,'

'Well,' Phil said as he and Sam stopped beside his car. 'I am very pleased to hear that.'

He leant towards her and kissed her softly, to see if she'd respond. Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck and allowed her tongue to enter his mouth. They pulled away a few minutes later and smiled at each other. 'I'll drop you off back at yours,' Phil said.

Sam looked up at him, 'thanks Phil,' she smiled at him, leaning upwards to brush her lips against his cheek.

Sam got into the passengers seat as Phil got into the drivers seat and started the engine before driving off in the direction of Sam's house.

* * *

Phil pulled up round the corner from Sam's house a little while later. 'I'll see you tomorrow Sam,' he said, leaning across to kiss her softly on the lips.

They pulled away and smiled at each other once again. 'I'll see you tomorrow Phil,' she replied as she undone her seatbelt and opened the car door. 'Thanks again for tonight Phil.'

Phil smiled at her, 'I just wanted to treat you,'

Sam smiled back at him as she got out of the car and shut the door. She watched as Phil pulled away from the kerb and disappeared out of sight. Sam smiled to herself as she walked around the corner and up the path. She put her key in the lock and opened the door, closing it with a small click behind her.

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	11. Declarations

**Hey guys, latest update for you. Apologies for the delay, just finished my A-Level exams so the updates on this and all my other stories will be more frequent from now on.**

**To make up for it, this chapter is extra-long, I couldn't bear to split it up.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Ruth, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Clare90 and xXxLeahxXx****. Thanks also to Jodie for reviewing chapters 9 and 10. Please keep reviewing, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxx**

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**Chapter 11- Declarations**

A few weeks later, Sam and Stuart still hadn't made up. Their relationship was deteriorating faster than she believe possible, it had now got to the point where neither of them could resist making a comment about the other, these usually comments had often descended into arguments that had made the whole of CID aware that they were going through a rough patch. To Sam, it was more than just a rough patch; it was the beginning of the end for them and deep down, she knew it. He had broken promises in the past but to her, this was somehow different from all the others. Sam needed a partner that she could trust and that was becoming more and more obvious to her that that person wasn't Stuart. Sam was still seeing Phil behind Stuart's back, that was really the only consolation that she'd gained from this whole situation.

'That's it, off you go,' Sam finished as she ended the briefing one Tuesday morning.

Everyone began to move towards the briefing room door and left, all except one. Phil got out of his seat and walked towards Sam, 'can I have a word Sam?' he asked.

Sam didn't answer immediately; her gaze was fixed on Stuart, who was in the main CID office. Phil followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at; Stuart had just picked up his coat and walked off with Jo to the doors of the CID office. 'Sorry Phil,' she said, snapping her gaze away from the door, she saw the expression on Phil's face, 'I had to make sure Stuart wouldn't walk in on us,' she added.

Phil nodded, 'I understand Sam,' he said as he leant across and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

'What did you want Phil?'

'I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to come over to mine tonight, I could cook, if you wanted to come of course,'

Sam looked up at him and smiled, 'I'll think about it Phil,' she said.

'OK then,' Phil replied. 'No pressure,' he added as he brushed his lips against Sam's cheek.

She smiled at him again as he walked towards the briefing room door and opened it.

Sam smiled to herself; she couldn't believe that she hadn't accepted Phil's invitation on the spot. She knew that things between her and Stuart were unlikely to ever get back to how they were. His treatment of her on New Year's Eve was still at the forefront of her mind. Sam couldn't get over the way he had treated her that night. That night had emphasised to her just how little she actually meant to him. Phil treated her differently, he treated her like a princess, Phil made her feel like she hadn't in years, he was so different from Stuart but she didn't know how she felt about him. She liked him, a lot, but she still didn't know if her feelings were more platonic than she had realised. Maybe accepting his dinner invitation would give her a chance to work out how she felt about him and perhaps see how he felt about her.

* * *

'I'm guessing you and Sam still haven't kissed and made up yet?' Jo asked as she and Stuart left the station.

Stuart looked towards her, 'what do you think?' he replied.

'Don't you think you're being a little bit childish about the whole thing?'

'I'm not the one being childish about this, if anyone's being childish about it, it's Sam,'

'I know, she is being childish about it,' Jo agreed. 'But if you want to make things up to her, I think you're going to have to make the first move, she's so stubborn and she won't do that.'

'I want to make things up with her Jo but…' Stuart trailed off.

'But what?'

'She won't let me anywhere near her,'

'And that's a problem why?'

'Because if she won't let me near her…' Stuart trailed off. 'Well, you know what I mean,' he added, hoping that Jo would understand what he was trying to get at.

'Oh great, another to add to the list,' Jo muttered.

'Another to add to the list of what?' Stuart asked.

'Another name to add to the list of men in this station who seem to keep their brains in their trousers,'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You think that sex is the answer to everything, uh reality check, it isn't,'

Stuart looked at her, at a complete loss for anything to say. Maybe Jo did have a point. Jo looked back at him and softened her voice, 'look Stuart,' she said. 'If you really wanna make things up to Sam, you're gonna have to take your brains out of your trousers and put it back into your skull. I wanna see you two back on track, if only to stop you from walking round this station with a face like a slapped backside,'

Stuart looked at her, 'thanks Jo,' he said.

'No problem,' Jo replied. 'What are you going to do for her?'

'I'm going to cook her a romantic meal tonight, she'll like that,'

Jo smiled at him, 'I think she will like that,' she agreed.

'Thanks again Jo,' Stuart replied.

'My pleasure,'

* * *

Stuart knocked on Sam's office door later that afternoon. 'Come in!' she called.

He opened the office door and smiled at Sam, 'what do _you_ want?' she asked coldly.

'I was just wondering if you'd got any plans for tonight, that's all,'

'Why?'

'Oh no reason,' Stuart said. 'I was just wondering.'

'Oh OK,' Sam replied. 'No, I haven't.'

'You coming back tonight then?' Stuart asked. 'I missed you last night,' he added, Sam had spent the night before at Phil's.

'Yeah, of course you did, we haven't slept together for over three weeks, I would've thought you'd have got past missing me,'

'I could never get past that bit Sam,' he whispered. 'So are you coming back tonight then?'

'I guess so,' Sam replied.

'Great!' Stuart said. 'I'll see you later,' he said as he left the office.

He shut the door behind him and Sam put her pen down on the desk. She sighed quietly to herself, she was wondering how on earth she would get out of seeing Stuart tonight. She knew from his demeanour that he'd had planned something for tonight; she knew this was probably his way of trying to make things up to her. She was still angry with him for the way he treated her and wasn't going to allow him back into her affections that easily.

She was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of going home to Stuart that night and then she remembered Phil's invitation. Sam smiled to herself; she had the perfect excuse not to go home to him for another night.

Sam looked out of her office window, she saw that Phil was sat at his desk and Mickey was perched on the edge, talking animatedly to him. Stuart had obviously gone back out with Jo. Once Mickey moved away, she left her office and walked over to Phil's desk. 'You OK Phil?' she asked.

'Yeah fine thanks, you?' he replied.

Sam nodded, 'I'm fine, listen your dinner invitation, is it still open?'

'Of course it is,'

'Then I'd like to accept,'

'Great! What time shall I expect you over?'

'How about I come over straight after work?'

'Even better,' Phil whispered.

'I'll see you then,' Sam replied as she walked back over to her office and entered.

* * *

Stuart switched off the computer in his office at about six that evening. He sighed happily to himself, hoping that tonight would put an end to all the bad feeling between him and Sam. Stuart looked towards her office and saw that she was still typing away at her computer, he stood up and walked towards the door and poked his head around, 'hey,' Stuart said. 'You coming?'

Sam looked up from her computer, 'I've just got this lot to sort out, I'll be back as soon as I can,' she replied.

'OK then, I'll see you in a bit,'

Sam nodded as Stuart left her doorway. She watched as he picked up his coat and walked towards the main office doors. They swung open and soon, Stuart has disappeared from sight. She sighed to herself, she had got away with it, for now.

Phil knocked on her door a few minutes later. 'God I'm popular all of a sudden,' Sam muttered as she looked up once more, smiling when she saw Phil stood there.

'I'm just off home,' Phil said. 'I'll see you in a bit,' he added, exchanging a smile with her.

'You certainly will,' Sam replied.

Phil nodded towards her and retreated from her office, leaving the door open. Sam reached out and switched off her computer and stood up. She looked down at the papers that had been strewn across her desk and then to her watch, it shouldn't really take her that long to sort the papers out.

Ten minutes later, the papers were neatly stacked in a pile beside her computer. Sam pulled her coat and handbag off the hanger before reaching across to switch the office light off, plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

Sam pulled her car up outside Phil's house a little while later, she spotted Phil's car in the driveway and then saw a light in the living room. She smiled to herself as she got out of the car and locked it up before walking up the path to the door. Sam knocked and almost immediately, a figure appeared on the other side and opened it. Phil saw Sam stood on the step and smiled at her, 'you made it then,' he said.

Sam smiled at him, 'you make it very difficult to decline,' she replied.

Sam stepped inside and Phil brushed his hand across her back as she walked past. Sam gasped as she felt a familiar tingling sensation shoot through her spine. Three weeks of being with Phil had made her aware of how he made her feel; she certainly hadn't experienced anything like that with Stuart. Maybe this was an indicator of how her feelings towards Phil were somewhat stronger than those that she felt towards Stuart.

She entered the living room and Phil entered too after going through to the kitchen a few minutes later, carrying a glass of white wine and a glass of beer. 'There you go,' he said as he handed Sam the glass of white wine.

Sam smiled at him as she took the glass from him and shifted up slightly so that he could sit next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and Sam leant into him, resting her head against his shoulder, moving occasionally to drink from the glass Phil had given her.

Once she'd finished, Sam put her glass down on the coffee table and leant back towards Phil, brushing her lips softly against his, he deepened the kiss and moved the arm wrapped around her shoulders down to her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Phil pulled away and smiled at Sam, 'I'd better go and check our dinner,' he said as he stood up.

He walked back into the kitchen, Sam sat up and watched, completely entranced by his movements. 'Don't think I don't know what you're doing,' Phil called.

Sam smirked to herself as she rested her head against the back of the sofa.

* * *

Stuart put the meal he'd cooked for Sam on the table. He put the lid over her plate to make sure that it didn't get cold. Stuart sat down and began to admire his handiwork; the table was laid perfectly with two candles burning brightly in the middle of the table. Maybe Jo was right, he should've made the first move long before now. It was him who had done wrong after all. Perhaps he should've done this ages ago, maybe things between him and Sam wouldn't have been so bad if he'd simply swallowed his pride and apologised sooner. He looked up at the kitchen clock; it read 7:00pm. _She shouldn't be too much long_, Stuart thought.

Another half an hour went by and Sam still hadn't turned up. Stuart was beginning to resign himself to the fact that she wasn't going to turn up, she had lied to him. Stuart couldn't help but think that the reason she hadn't come home was because she had already made a decision about their floundering relationship and that decision was to end it.

Stuart sighed to himself as he began to eat.

* * *

'That was delicious Phil, thank you,' Sam said as she stood up and went back though to the living room.

'You don't think that's it do you?' Phil called through.

He came through a few minutes later, carrying a tub of ice cream and one spoon. Sam looked up at him and smirked, 'how come you've only got one spoon?' Sam asked curiously.

'You'll find out,'

Phil sat down beside Sam and took the lid off the tub. He put a small amount of ice cream on the spoon and put it in Sam's mouth. Phil then pulled the spoon away and replaced it with his lips. Sam deepened the kiss and reached towards Phil and began to undo his shirt. Phil shrugged his shirt to the floor and Sam snatched the ice cream tub from his lap. 'Hey, that's not fair,' he protested.

'It's perfectly fair,' she said as she put some ice cream onto the spoon and pushed him backwards so that she was on top of him.

Sam smiled seductively at him as she daubed the ice cream on his chest, 'Sam!' Phil moaned, 'that's cold.'

'It's meant to be,' Sam smirked.

She leant downwards and licked the ice cream off, 'god you're naughty,' Phil whispered to her.

'Don't tell me you don't love it though,' Sam replied.

Phil smiled at her, 'can I do that to you?' he asked, a smirk beginning to creep across his face.

'You can…' Sam replied slowly, 'but you've got to get the tub off me,' she added as she stood up and ran out of the living room and towards the stairs.

Phil sighed to himself as ran upstairs in his attempt to catch her.

* * *

Sam lay back on Phil's bed an hour and a half later. His arms were wrapped around her waist as her head rested on his chest. Sam looked upwards and saw his face smiling down at her; she smiled back at him and sat up slightly. She leant across and brushed her lips softly against his. Phil deepened the kiss as Sam wrapped her arms around his neck.

They pulled away a few minutes late and rested their foreheads together. Phil brushed his lips against Sam's forehead before whispering, 'I love you Sam.'

* * *

**Apologies once again for the length, reviews? :) xxx**


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